Folk paintings are a combination of traditional cultural values with ancient artistic methods that have been created through the labour of past generations. There are two types of Vietnamese folk paintings, Tet (Lunar New Year Festival) paintings and worshipping paintings. The Vietnamese believe in ancestor worship and the deification of natural phenomena, both of which are reflected in…

Bat Trang is an ancient village situated on the northern bank of the Red-river, about eight kilometers from the center of Hanoi with seventy-two white ground hillocks and Chu Dau china of Hai Duong province. As far back as 600 years the village has supplied ceramic bowls, cups, bottles, jars and tiles to the whole of Northern Vietnam.…

Fans made of paper, silk, and wood are a cultural feature only found in Asia.The fans symbolize the grace and reserved character of women, and the elegance and strength of men. They are also means of showing love between couples and have played an important role in poetry, songs, plays and Vietnamese daily life for thousands of years.…

Located next to the ancient quarter of Hoi An, the Thanh Ha ceramic village has been in existence for a long time. The village is famous for its traditional ceramic products. In the 1990s, the village was a different kind of place and plastic and aluminum products were the rule. During those years, ceramic making was not happening…

The tradition to decorate the ancient town in Hoi An with multi-colored lanterns, which started three centuries ago, is still continued today on the fourteenth night of each lunar month in this small town in central Vietnam. The history of the lanterns In the past, Vietnamese people often put oil lamps in decorative spherical and hexagonal lantern shades,…

What can make music, hold water and inspire dozens or legends in Vietnam`s Central Highlands, the gourd is a godsend. The myth The bottle-gourd is among the first plants to have been cultivated in Southeast Asia. Many ethnic groups in the region recount myths that tell o humankind`s rebirth from a magic gourd, following a great flood that…

Hat-making village Phu Cam (also Phuoc Vinh) lies on the southern bank of the An Cuu River in the centre of the former imperial capital of Hue. It`s a village famous for its traditional way of making conical hats for hundreds of years. Phu Cam-made hats look graceful, soft and thin as silk. Hue landscapes or even poems…

If you are lucky enough to arrive at Chuong village on market day, you will happen upon a wonderful scene, the village`s market ground covered with thousands of conical palm hats, known in Vietnamese as non. On days that end with zero and four in the lunar calendar, merchants from many provinces gather here to buy stacks of…

Van Phuc is situated on the bank of Nhue River, 10km from Hanoi on the southwest motorway. The village is in the centre of Ha Dong Town, Ha Tay Province, and the biggest silk production village in Vietnam. The sound of looms has filled Van Phuc for a thousand years, and is a touching sound to villagers when…

The village is situated on the side of National Highway Two, about one hour drive from Hanoi to the north. It is in Binh Xuyen District and according to some historical records; it is about 300 years old. Yet archeological excavated pieces of ceramics found in the village are dating back about a thousand years. The villagers made…